Integrated NoC for performing data communication and NoC functions

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to a NoC interconnect that consolidates one or more Network on Chip functions into one Network on Chip. The present disclosure is further directed to a Network on Chip (NoC) interconnect comprising a plurality of first agents, wherein each agent can be configured to communicate with other ones of the plurality of first agents. NoC of the present disclosure can further include a second agent configured to perform a NoC function, and a bridge associated with the second agent, wherein the bridge can be configured to packetize messages from the second agent to the plurality of first agents, and to translate messages from the plurality of first agents to the second agent.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 9,319,232, issuedApr. 19, 2016, (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/245,917, filed onApr. 4, 2014), the contents of which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

Methods and example implementations described herein are directed toNetwork on Chip (NoC) interconnect architecture, and more specifically,to a NoC interconnect that consolidates one or more Network on Chipfunctions into one Network on Chip.

Related Art

The number of components on a chip is rapidly growing due to increasinglevels of integration, system complexity and shrinking transistorgeometry. Complex System-on-Chips (SoCs) may involve a variety ofcomponents e.g., processor cores, DSPs, hardware accelerators, memoryand I/O, while Chip Multi-Processors (CMPs) may involve a large numberof homogenous processor cores, memory and I/O subsystems. In both SoCand CMP systems, the on-chip interconnect plays a role in providinghigh-performance communication between the various components. Due toscalability limitations of traditional buses and crossbar basedinterconnects, Network-on-Chip (NoC) has emerged as a paradigm tointerconnect a large number of components on the chip. NoC is a globalshared communication infrastructure made up of several routing nodesinterconnected with each other using point-to-point physical links.

Messages are injected by the source and are routed from the source nodeto the destination over multiple intermediate nodes and physical links.The destination node then ejects the message and provides the message tothe destination. For the remainder of this application, the terms‘components’, ‘blocks’, ‘hosts’ or ‘cores’ will be used interchangeablyto refer to the various system components which are interconnected usinga NoC. Terms ‘routers’ and ‘nodes’ will also be used interchangeably.Without loss of generalization, the system with multiple interconnectedcomponents will itself be referred to as a ‘multi-core system’.

There are several topologies in which the routers can connect to oneanother to create the system network. Bi-directional rings (as shown inFIG. 1(a)), 2-D (two dimensional) mesh (as shown in FIG. 1(b)) and 2-DTorus (as shown in FIG. 1(c)) are examples of topologies in the relatedart. Mesh and Torus can also be extended to 2.5-D (two and halfdimensional) or 3-D (three dimensional) organizations. FIG. 1(d) shows a3D mesh NoC, where there are three layers of 3×3 2D mesh NoC, shown overeach other. The NoC routers have up to two additional ports, oneconnecting to a router in the higher layer, and another connecting to arouter in the lower layer. Router 111 in the middle layer of the examplehas both of its ports used, one connecting to the router at the toplayer and another connecting to the router at the bottom layer. Routers110 and 112 are at the bottom and top mesh layers respectively,therefore they have only the upper facing port 113 and the lower facingport 114 respectively connected.

Packets are message transport units for intercommunication betweenvarious components. Routing involves identifying a path composed of aset of routers and physical links of the network over which packets aresent from a source to a destination. Components are connected to one ormultiple ports of one or multiple routers; with each such port having aunique ID. Packets carry the destination's router and port ID for use bythe intermediate routers to route the packet to the destinationcomponent.

Examples of routing techniques include deterministic routing, whichinvolves choosing the same path from A to B for every packet. This formof routing is independent from the state of the network and does notload balance across path diversities, which might exist in theunderlying network. However, such deterministic routing that may beimplemented in hardware, maintains packet ordering and may be renderedfree of network level deadlocks. Shortest path routing may minimize thelatency as such routing reduces the number of hops from the source tothe destination. For this reason, the shortest path may also be thelowest power path for communication between the two components.Dimension-order routing is a form of deterministic shortest path routingin 2-D, 2.5-D, and 3-D mesh networks. In this routing scheme, messagesare routed along each coordinates in a particular sequence until themessage reaches the final destination. For example in a 3-D meshnetwork, one may first route along the X dimension until it reaches arouter whose X-coordinate is equal to the X-coordinate of thedestination router. Next, the message takes a turn and is routed inalong Y dimension and finally takes another turn and moves along the Zdimension until the message reaches the final destination router.Dimension ordered routing may be minimal turn and shortest path routing.

FIG. 2(a) pictorially illustrates an example of XY routing in a twodimensional mesh. More specifically, FIG. 2(a) illustrates XY routingfrom node ‘34’ to node ‘00’. In the example of FIG. 2(a), each componentis connected to only one port of one router. A packet is first routedover the x-axis till the packet reaches node ‘04’ where the x-coordinateof the node is the same as the x-coordinate of the destination node. Thepacket is next routed over the y-axis until the packet reaches thedestination node.

In heterogeneous mesh topology in which one or more routers or one ormore links are absent, dimension order routing may not be feasiblebetween certain source and destination nodes, and alternative paths mayhave to be taken. The alternative paths may not be shortest or minimumturn.

Source routing and routing using tables are other routing options usedin NoC. Adaptive routing can dynamically change the path taken betweentwo points on the network based on the state of the network. This formof routing may be complex to analyze and implement.

A NoC interconnect may contain multiple physical networks. Over eachphysical network, there may exist multiple virtual networks, whereindifferent message types are transmitted over different virtual networks.In this case, at each physical link or channel, there are multiplevirtual channels; each virtual channel may have dedicated buffers atboth end points. In any given clock cycle, only one virtual channel cantransmit data on the physical channel.

NoC interconnects may employ wormhole routing, wherein, a large messageor packet is broken into small pieces known as flits (also referred toas flow control digits). The first flit is the header flit, which holdsinformation about this packet's route and key message level info alongwith payload data and sets up the routing behavior for all subsequentflits associated with the message. Optionally, one or more body flitsfollows the head flit, containing the remaining payload of data. Thefinal flit is the tail flit, which in addition to containing the lastpayload also performs some bookkeeping to close the connection for themessage. In wormhole flow control, virtual channels are oftenimplemented.

The physical channels are time sliced into a number of independentlogical channels called virtual channels (VCs). VCs provide multipleindependent paths to route packets, however they are time-multiplexed onthe physical channels. A virtual channel holds the state needed tocoordinate the handling of the flits of a packet over a channel. At aminimum, this state identifies the output channel of the current nodefor the next hop of the route and the state of the virtual channel(idle, waiting for resources, or active). The virtual channel may alsoinclude pointers to the flits of the packet that are buffered on thecurrent node and the number of flit buffers available on the next node.

The term “wormhole” plays on the way messages are transmitted over thechannels: the output port at the next router can be so short that thereceived data can be translated in the head flit before the full messagearrives. This allows the router to quickly set up the route upon arrivalof the head flit and then opt out from the rest of the conversation.Since a message is transmitted flit by flit, the message may occupyseveral flit buffers along its path at different routers, creating aworm-like image.

Based upon the traffic between various end points, and the routes andphysical networks that are used for various messages, different physicalchannels of the NoC interconnect may experience different levels of loadand congestion. The capacity of various physical channels of a NoCinterconnect is determined by the width of the channel (number ofphysical wires) and the clock frequency at which it is operating.Various channels of the NoC may operate at different clock frequencies,and various channels may have different widths based on the bandwidthrequirement at the channel. The bandwidth requirement at a channel isdetermined by the flows that traverse over the channel and theirbandwidth values. Flows traversing over various NoC channels areaffected by the routes taken by various flows. In a mesh or Torus NoC,there may exist multiple route paths of equal length or number of hopsbetween any pair of source and destination nodes. For example, in FIG.2(b), in addition to the standard XY route between nodes 34 and 00,there are additional routes available, such as YX route 203 or amulti-turn route 202 that makes more than one turn from source todestination.

In a NoC with statically allocated routes for various traffic slows, theload at various channels may be controlled by intelligently selectingthe routes for various flows. When a large number of traffic flows andsubstantial path diversity is present, routes can be chosen such thatthe load on all NoC channels is balanced nearly uniformly, thus avoidinga single point of bottleneck. Once routed, the NoC channel widths can bedetermined based on the bandwidth demands of flows on the channels.Unfortunately, channel widths cannot be arbitrarily large due tophysical hardware design restrictions, such as timing or wiringcongestion. There may be a limit on the maximum channel width, therebyputting a limit on the maximum bandwidth of any single NoC channel.

Additionally, wider physical channels may not help in achieving higherbandwidth if messages are short. For example, if a packet is a singleflit packet with a 64-bit width, then no matter how wide a channel is,the channel will only be able to carry 64 bits per cycle of data if allpackets over the channel are similar. Thus, a channel width is alsolimited by the message size in the NoC. Due to these limitations on themaximum NoC channel width, a channel may not have enough bandwidth inspite of balancing the routes.

To address the above bandwidth concern, multiple parallel physical NoCsmay be used. Each NoC may be called a layer, thus creating a multi-layerNoC architecture. Hosts inject a message on a NoC layer, wherein themessage is then routed to the destination on the NoC layer. Thus, eachlayer operates more or less independently from each other, andinteractions between layers may only occur during the injection andejection times. FIG. 3(a) illustrates a two layer NoC. Here the two NoClayers are shown adjacent to each other on the left and right, with thehosts connected to the NoC replicated in both left and right diagrams. Ahost is connected to two routers of different layers. For example, arouter connected to host in the first layer is shown as R1, and a routerconnected to host in the second layer is shown as R2. In this example,the multi-layer NoC is different from the 3D NoC. In this case, multiplelayers are on a single silicon die and are used to meet the highbandwidth demands of the communication between hosts on the same silicondie. Messages do not go from one layer to another. For purposes ofclarity, the present application will utilize such a horizontal left andright illustration for multi-layer NoC to differentiate from the 3DNoCs, which are illustrated by drawing the NoCs vertically over eachother.

In FIG. 3(b), a host connected to a router from each layer, R1 and R2respectively, is illustrated. Each router is connected to other routersin its layer using directional ports 301, and is connected to the hostusing injection and ejection ports 302. A bridge-logic 303 may sitbetween the host and the two NoC layers to determine the NoC layer foran outgoing message and sends the message from host to the NoC layer,and also perform the arbitration and multiplexing between incomingmessages from the two NoC layers and delivers them to the host.

In a multi-layer NoC, the number of layers needed may depend upon anumber of factors such as the aggregate bandwidth requirement of alltraffic flows in the system, the routes that are used by various flows,message size distribution, maximum channel width, etc. Once the numberof NoC layers in NoC interconnect is determined in a design, differenttype of messages and traffic flows may be routed over different NoClayers. Additionally, one may design NoC interconnects in such a waythat different layers have different topologies in number of routers,channels and connectivity. The channels in different layers may havedifferent widths based on the flows that traverse over the channel andtheir bandwidth requirements.

In the related art, there can be dedicated NoCs for facilitating one ormore NoC functions. These functions can include configuration/registeraccess, monitoring, debugging, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG), andinterrupt/exception handling. In such systems, multiple NoCs areemployed within a System on Chip (SoC). In this related artimplementation, the logical architecture of the NoCs include a separateNoC that is dedicated for regular agent to agent communication, and aseparate NoC configured to perform specific NoC functions.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system involving two NoCs, with one NoChandling agent/host to agent/host communication, and another NoChandling a NoC function. Logical views of the NoCs have been depicted inFIG. 4. In the related art, NoC 400 may include one or more hosts/agents401, 402, and 403, wherein the NoC 400 is dedicated for handling regularagent to agent communication between different agents 401, 402 and 403.Each agent 401, 402 and 403 can be programmed and configured through aconfiguration port (register port) through which the agents/hosts areprogrammed. In the logical picture, they will have one NoC such as NoC400 where the agents/hosts 401, 402 and 403 are connected to each other.This NoC configuration can be dedicated for regular agent to agentcommunication and is not otherwise configurable except manually.

To facilitate the NoC functions as described above, related art systemsmay also employ a separate NoC 410 to perform a defined NoC functionthat can be any one of the functions including configuration/registeraccess, monitoring, debugging, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG), andinterrupt/exception handling functions. In the NoC 410, NoC agents/hosts411, 412, 413 and 414 do not perform any data communication with eachother but rather communicate to perform the desired NoC function. Inoperation, for instance, one host/agent, such as 414 in the instantexample, may be chosen as a master agent for performing the defined NoCfunction and invoke the function on the agents 411, 412 and 413. Agents411, 412, and 413 can then propagate the function to the rest of thesystem. For instance, to facilitate the configuration master function,NoC 410 can be in the form of a configuration/register access network,wherein all of the agents/hosts can be connected and configured tocommunicate with a configuration master Central Processing Unit (CPU).The configuration master CPU sends messages to agents and receivesmessages from the agents. The configuration/register access network onlycontacts with agents for the purpose of propagating instructions fromthe configuration master out to other elements in the system.

Similarly, separate NoC architectures for facilitating different NoCfunctions need to be implemented. For instance, a separateMonitor/Debug/JTAG NoC network can be used to snoop the system, whereinthe NoC contains a function that monitors and debugs the system. AnInterrupt/Exception handler NoC can involve hosts/agents configured tofire an exception or interrupt.

Other custom or proprietary NoCs can be used and built to facilitate theNoC functions. However, these networks are not configurable and aremanually designed to address specific problems for a given system. EachNoC function require its own NoC for implementation. This can lead toinefficiencies as the system thereby has less space to accommodate NoCsthat handle regular agent to agent communication.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a NoC interconnect thatconsolidates one or more Network on Chip functions into one Network onChip. The present disclosure is further directed to a Network on Chip(NoC) interconnect comprising a plurality of first agents, wherein eachagent can be configured to communicate with other ones of the pluralityof first agents. NoC of the present disclosure can further include asecond agent configured to perform a NoC function, and a bridgeassociated with the second agent, wherein the bridge can be configuredto packetize messages from the second agent to the plurality of firstagents, and to translate messages from the plurality of first agents tothe second agent.

Aspects of the present application may include a method, which involvesthe step of enabling each of a plurality of first agents/hosts tocommunicate with other ones of the plurality of first agents. The methodcan further include the step of configuring a second agent to perform adefined NoC function, wherein the NoC function can include, but is notlimited to, interrupt/exception handler function, a monitoring function,a debugging function, and a JTAG function. Such a second agent caneither be configured at the same NoC level or at a different NoC levelin a multi-layer architecture. The method can further includeconfiguring a bridge and associating the bridge with the second agent topacketize messages from the second agent to transmit to the plurality offirst agents, and to translate messages from the plurality of firstagents to the second agent.

Aspect of present application may include a computer readable storagemedium storing instructions for executing a process. The instructionsmay involve enabling each of a plurality of first agents/hosts tocommunicate with other ones of the plurality of first agents. Theinstructions can further involve configuring a second agent to perform adefined NoC function, wherein the NoC function can include, but is notlimited to, interrupt/exception handler function, a monitoring function,a debugging function, and a JTAG function. Such a second agent caneither be configured at the same NoC level or at a different NoC levelin a multi-layer architecture. The instructions can further involveconfiguring a bridge and associating the bridge with the second agent topacketize messages from the second agent to transmit to the plurality offirst agents, and to translate messages from the plurality of firstagents to the second agent.

Aspects of the present application may include a system, which involves,a processor that can be configured to execute one or more modulesincluding an agent data communication module, a NoC function performancemodule, and a bridge association module. In an embodiment, agent datacommunication module can be configured to enable each of a plurality offirst agents/hosts to communicate with other ones of the plurality offirst agents. NoC function performance module can be configured toenable a second agent to perform a defined NoC function such asinterrupt/exception handler function, a monitoring function, a debuggingfunction, and a JTAG function. Bridge association module can beconfigured to associate a bridge with the second agent to packetizemessages from the second agent to transmit to the plurality of firstagents, and to translate messages from the plurality of first agents tothe second agent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a), 1(b) 1(c) and 1(d) illustrate examples of Bidirectionalring, 2D Mesh, 2D Torus, and 3D Mesh NoC Topologies.

FIG. 2(a) illustrates an example of XY routing in two dimensional meshin a related art

FIG. 2(b) illustrates three different routes between a source anddestination nodes.

FIG. 3(a) illustrates an example of a related art two layer NoCinterconnect.

FIG. 3(b) illustrates the related art bridge logic between host andmultiple NoC layers.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example system involving two NoCs, with one NoChandling agent-to-agent data communication, and the other NoC handling adefined NoC function.

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate logical views of the basic architectureof the consolidated NoC, in accordance with an example implementation.

FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c) illustrate a NoC packet format and modificationsthereof, in accordance with example implementations.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example view of two NoC agents, each performingboth function as well as data communications, in accordance with anexample implementation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example flow diagram in accordance with an exampleimplementation.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer/server block diagram upon which theexample implementations described herein may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description provides further details of thefigures and example implementations of the present application.Reference numerals and descriptions of redundant elements betweenfigures are omitted for clarity. Terms used throughout the descriptionare provided as examples and are not intended to be limiting. Forexample, the use of the term “automatic” may involve fully automatic orsemi-automatic implementations involving user or administrator controlover certain aspects of the implementation, depending on the desiredimplementation of one of ordinary skill in the art practicingimplementations of the present application.

The present disclosure relates to a Network on Chip (NoC) interconnectcomprising a plurality of first agents, wherein each agent can beconfigured to communicate with other ones of the plurality of firstagents. NoC of the present disclosure can further include a second agentconfigured to perform a NoC function, and a bridge associated with thesecond agent, wherein the bridge can be configured to packetize messagesfrom the second agent to the plurality of first agents, and to translatemessages from the plurality of first agents to the second agent.

According to one embodiment, NoC function can be a register access andconfiguration management function that provides read and write access toone or more configuration registers of the plurality of first agents andto one or more interconnects of the plurality of first agents. In yetanother embodiment, the second NoC agent can be associated with aninterconnect network comprising at least one separate set of one or morededicated channels.

In yet another embodiment, the one or more dedicated channels can beisolated from the one or more interconnects of the plurality of firstagents, and the one or more dedicated channels can be configured tohandle traffic between the second agent and the plurality of firstagents. In yet another embodiment, the one or more dedicated channelscan be one of a virtual channel and a physical channel. Second agent canbe selected as one of the plurality of first agents and can be connectedto the one or more interconnects of the plurality of first agents and toan interconnect network dedicated to the second agent. In an aspect ofthe present disclosure, the NoC function can include, but is not limitedto, at least one of an interrupt/exception handler function, amonitoring function, a debugging function and a JTAG function. Thesecond agent can be associated with an interconnect network configuredto facilitate traffic for the NoC function that is at least one of theinterrupt/exception handling function and a register access and aconfiguration manager function; the monitoring function; the debuggingfunction; and the JTAG function.

Example implementations of the present disclosure are directed toconsolidating the NoC functions into a NoC that also handles the regularagent to agent communication of the system. Systems and methods of thepresent disclosure relate to a single NoC that can facilitate regularagent-to-agent data communication as well as perform one or more NoCfunctions. Example implementations of the present disclosure can beimplemented within any logical or physical view of the NoC (e.g., 2Dmesh, 3D mesh, etc.). The NoC may include a NoC layer that includesrouters and bridges to connect agents, also interchangeably referred toas hosts hereinafter, together. In an example implementation, differentNoC layers of a NoC interconnect can be used for performance of bothagent-to-agent data communication (interchangeably referred to asNoC-Data hereinafter) as well as one or more NoC functions(interchangeably referred to as NoC-Functions hereinafter). In anexample implementation, NoC layer-1 can be used for data communication(agent-to-agent communication or NoC-Data), and NoC layer-2 can be usedfor performance of a first NoC function, and NoC layer-3 can be used forperformance of a second NoC function, and so on, enabling different NoClayers to be used for different NoC functions. One should appreciatethat a single NoC interconnect can include a plurality of NoC layers andtherefore the complete NoC data communication across multiple hosts andperformance of one or more NoC functions can be performed within asingle NoC interconnect architecture.

Example implementations of the present disclosure consolidate the NoCfunction by implementing the NoC function as an agent within the NoC.The agent can be configured to implement the NoC function and interactwith the NoC via a bridge. In this manner, one NoC can function for boththe regular agent to agent communication as well as for chipconfiguration via the NoC function. Further, multiple NoC functions canbe implemented within the same NoC and the implementations can beapplied for any NoC configuration.

FIG. 5(a) illustrates a logical view of the basic architecture of theconsolidated NoC 500 in accordance with an example implementation. Inthis example implementation, NoC agents/hosts 501-a, 501-b, and 501-ccan be configured to handle regular agent to agent communications, andone agents such as NoC Agent 502 can be configured to perform a firstNoC function F₁. In order to facilitate communications between NoC agent502 and the remaining NoC agents 501-a, 502-b and 502-c, a bridge 503can be used, wherein the bridge can be used to translate messagesbetween protocols associated with function F₁ of the NoC agent 502, andprotocol(s) of regular NoC agent(s) 501-a, 501-b, and 501-c. One shouldappreciate that although one agent 502 is illustrated in FIG. 5(a) asbeing configured to perform a NoC function F₁, any number ofagents/hosts can be configured in a similar manner for performing otherNoC functions within the same NoC. Example implementations of thepresent disclosure are therefore not limited to the configuration of asingle agent in any manner. In an example implementation, any NoC agentcan be configured to perform a defined NoC function F_(n). One and moreNoC agents can therefore be configured to perform one and more differentNoC functions as well as to support regular data communication betweenhosts.

In example implementations, there may be a need to isolate traffic ofthe NoC function from the regular data traffic of the NoC. FIG. 5(b)illustrates a logical view of an example implementation to isolatetraffic of the NoC function F₁ by using separate NoC layers 500-1 and500-2 within the consolidated NoC interconnect configuration 500. Inthis example implementation, NoC Layer 500-1 can be used for regularagent-to-agent data communication, and NoC Layer 500-2 can be used forperforming and handling traffic relating to NoC function F₁, which isperformed by NoC agent 502. In this manner, traffic of the NoC functionF₁ can be isolated from the regular agent to agent communicationtraffic, even within the same NoC interconnect.

In one aspect, example implementation of FIG. 5(a) may be utilized toinclude functionality of the configuration master as the NoC function F₁and have NoC Agent 502 facilitate the same functionality as theconfiguration master. In this example implementation, NoC agent 502 maybe configured to transmit configuration master messages in theconfiguration master protocol (e.g., AXI4-Lite, APB/AHB protocol, etc.)that is subsequently converted to NoC protocol via a bridge 503.Communications sent to NoC agent 502 with respect to function F₁ canalso be converted from NoC protocol to the configuration master protocolvia the bridge 503. Bridge 503 can be used to translate messages fromthe protocol associated with function F₁ of the NoC agent 502 toprotocol(s) of regular NoC agents such as 501-a, 501-b, and 501-c, andvisa-versa. As the NoC 500 is configured to facilitate traffic for boththe configuration master function as well as regular agent-to-agentcommunication, each NoC agent 501-a, 501-b, and 501-c can be configuredto have a dedicated port or interface that is able to send or receivemessages for communication from the configuration master function of theNoC Agent 502. Configuration traffic can also be isolated from theregular agent-to-agent communication of the NoC by use of dedicatedvirtual/physical channels for configuration master traffic. In anotherexample implementation, port 1 of NoC agent 501-a can be configured tocommunicate with NoC agent 502 over a suitable protocol for function F₁,port 2 of NoC agent 501-a can be configured to communicate with NoCagent 502 over another suitable protocol for function F₂, and a port 3of NoC agent 501-a can be configured to communicate with NoC agent 502over a regular NoC protocol for data communication.

The example implementation of FIG. 5(b) can also be utilized when theNoC agent 502 is configured to perform functions of a configurationmaster. In such an implementation, the configuration master agent 502can be configured to include other types of message besides theagent-to-agent communications. To facilitate communications by theconfiguration master agent 502, such communications can be isolated fromthe regular traffic of the NoC. In an example implementation, NoC Layer500-2 can be constructed as a register bus layer and can be configuredto handle all configuration messages. In such an implementation, thebridge 503 may also be omitted if the register bus layer is alreadyconfigured to handle configuration messages using configuration masterprotocols.

Furthermore, a bridge may exist between the regular agents and theregister bus NoC layer to convert the NoC protocol into theconfiguration interface protocol of the agents. The configurationprotocol of agents may include AXI-lite or APB/AHB. In such cases, theNoC agents that are responsible for configuration and register access(acting as master) as well as the agents whose registers are beingaccessed and configured (acting as slave) may use a bridge to convertmessages between the register bus protocol and the NoC protocol.

In example implementations, messages for NoC functions such asmonitoring, debugging, JTAG, logic analyzer, and so on, can beimplemented through the use of packetized messages. In suchimplementations, each message of the NoC function 512 can be packetizedeither by bridge 503 or by the NoC agent 502 itself, and sent over theNoC 500, wherein the NoC 500 is configured to facilitate thetransmission of such packets to the destination NoC agent.

FIG. 6(a) illustrates an example NoC packet format 600. In an exampleembodiment, NoC packet 600 can include destination information 602 andpayload information 604. In example implementations involvingpacketization, payload information 604 can be modified to includecommunications based on the NoC function F₁. In the exampleimplementation of FIG. 6(b) involving the packetization of aconfiguration master message, payload information 650 can be configuredto include the type of configuration (e.g. Load/Store 652), addressinformation 654, and end data 656. In this example implementation, asystem address map can be utilized by the NoC to determine where the enddata 656 specified by the address information 654 should be sent. In theexample implementation of FIG. 6(c), payload information 680 can beconfigured to include interrupt/exception 682, ID 682, and handlerinstructions 686.

The examples of FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c) can be modified depending on thedesired NoC function and the configuration and register access interfaceprotocol being used. Other functions such as transporting interrupts andexceptions between various agents, monitor, debug, JTAG, logic analysis,and so forth can be implemented using similar modifications to theDestination/Payload format of the NoC packet based on the agentsinterface protocol. For each of these functions, the payload may includedifferent fields depending on the implemented function. For example,when interrupts are being transported, the payload may contain theinterrupt id, which may be determined by the bridge attached to theagent where interrupt was generated based on a global interrupt idassignment configured at the bridge.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example view 700 of two NoC agents 702 and 704,each performing both function as well as data communications, inaccordance with an example implementation. As can be seen, in thisembodiment, NoC agent 702 can include a data communication module 706and a NoC function module 710, and similarly, NoC agent 704 can includea data communication module 708 and a NoC function module 712, such thatboth the NoC agents 702/704 can perform both activities of enabling datacommunication between agents as well as performing one or a combinationof NoC functions. NoC agents 702 and 704 can be coupled with the NoCinterconnect architecture 718 of the instant invention through bridges714 and 716 respectively.

FIG. 8 is an example flow chart for enabling configuration of an NoCinterconnect that enable performance of one or more NoC functions alongwith enabling data communication. At step 800, the NoC is configured toenable each of a plurality of first agents/hosts to communicate withother ones of the plurality of first agents. At step 801, a second agentcan be configured to perform a defined NoC function, wherein the NoCfunction can include, but is not limited to, interrupt/exception handlerfunction, a monitoring function, a debugging function, and a JTAGfunction. Such a second agent can either be configured at the same NoClevel or at a different NoC level in a multi-layer architecture. At 802,a bridge is configured and associated with the second agent to packetizemessages from the second agent to transmit to the plurality of firstagents, and to translate messages from the plurality of first agents tothe second agent.

According to one embodiment, the NoC function can be a register accessand configuration management function that provides read and writeaccess to one or more configuration registers of the plurality of firstagents and to one or more interconnects of the plurality of firstagents.

In another embodiment, the second NoC agent can be associated with aninterconnect network comprising at least one separate set of one or morededicated channels. In yet another embodiment, the one or more dedicatedchannels can be isolated from the one or more interconnects of theplurality of first agents, and the one or more dedicated channels can beconfigured to handle traffic between the second agent and the pluralityof first agents.

In yet another embodiment, each of the one or more dedicated channelscan be one of a virtual channel and a physical channel. In an alternateembodiment, the second agent can be selected from one of the pluralityof first agents and is connected to the one or more interconnects of theplurality of first agents and to an interconnect network dedicated tothe second agent. In another embodiment, the second agent can beassociated with an interconnect network configured to facilitate trafficfor the NoC function that is at least one of the interrupt/exceptionhandling function and a register access and a configuration managerfunction; the monitoring function; the debugging function; and the JTAGfunction.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example computer system 900 on which exampleimplementations may be implemented. Computer system 900 includes aserver 905, which may involve an I/O unit 935, storage 960, and aprocessor 910 operable to execute one or more units as known to one ofskill in the art. The term “computer-readable medium” as used hereinrefers to any medium that participates in providing instructions toprocessor 910 for execution, which may come in the form of computerreadable storage mediums, such as, but not limited to optical disks,magnetic disks, read-only memories, random access memories, solid statedevices and drives, or any other types of tangible media suitable forstoring electronic information, or computer readable signal mediums,which can include media such as carrier waves. The I/O unit processesinput from user interfaces 940 and operator interfaces 945 which mayutilize input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, touch device, or verbalcommand.

The server 905 may also be connected to an external storage 950, whichcan contain removable storage such as a portable hard drive, opticalmedia (CD or DVD), disk media or any other medium from which a computercan read executable code. The server may also be connected an outputdevice 955, such as a display to output data and other information to auser, as well as request additional information from a user. The server905 may be connected to the user interface 940, the operator interface945, the external storage 950, and the output device 955 via wirelessprotocols, such as the 802.11 standards, Bluetooth® or cellularprotocols, or via physical transmission media, such as cables or fiberoptics. The output device 955 may therefore further act as an inputdevice for interacting with a user.

The processor 910 may execute one or more modules including an agentdata communication module 911, a NoC function performance module 912,and a bridge association module 913. In an embodiment, agent datacommunication module 911 can be configured to enable each of a pluralityof first agents/hosts to communicate with other ones of the plurality offirst agents. In another aspect, NoC function performance module 912 canbe configured to enable a second agent to perform a defined NoC functionsuch as interrupt/exception handler function, a monitoring function, adebugging function, and a JTAG function. In yet another aspect, bridgeassociation module 913 can be configured to associate a bridge with thesecond agent to packetize messages from the second agent to transmit tothe plurality of first agents, and to translate messages from theplurality of first agents to the second agent.

In some example implementations, the computer system 900 can beimplemented in a computing environment such as a cloud. Such a computingenvironment can include the computer system 900 being implemented as orcommunicatively connected to one or more other devices by a network andalso connected to one or more storage devices. Such devices can includemovable user equipment (UE) (e.g., smartphones, devices in vehicles andother machines, devices carried by humans and animals, and the like),mobile devices (e.g., tablets, notebooks, laptops, personal computers,portable televisions, radios, and the like), and devices designed forstationary use (e.g., desktop computers, other computers, informationkiosks, televisions with one or more processors embedded therein and/orcoupled thereto, radios, and the like).

Furthermore, some portions of the detailed description are presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations within acomputer. These algorithmic descriptions and symbolic representationsare the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to mosteffectively convey the essence of their innovations to others skilled inthe art. An algorithm is a series of defined steps leading to a desiredend state or result. In the example implementations, the steps carriedout require physical manipulations of tangible quantities for achievinga tangible result.

Moreover, other implementations of the present application will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the example implementations disclosedherein. Various aspects and/or components of the described exampleimplementations may be used singly or in any combination. It is intendedthat the specification and examples be considered as examples, with atrue scope and spirit of the application being indicated by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A Network on Chip (NoC), comprising: a pluralityof first agents, each of the plurality of first agents configured as aNoC host to communicate with other ones of the plurality of first agentsthrough injection of messages into the NoC; a second agent configured toperform a NoC function, the second agent being one of the plurality ofthe first agents and configured as a NoC host to communicate with otherones of the plurality of first agents through injection of messages intothe NoC, the second agent connected to one or more interconnects of theplurality of the first agents and to an interconnect network dedicatedto the second agent; and a bridge connected to the second agent, thebridge configured to packetize messages from the second agent totransmit to the plurality of first agents, and to translate the messagesfrom the plurality of first agents to the second agent.
 2. The NoC ofclaim 1, wherein the NoC function is at least one of aninterrupt/exception handler function, a monitoring function, a debuggingfunction and a JTAG function.
 3. The NoC of claim 2, wherein the secondagent is associated with an interconnect network configured tofacilitate traffic for the NoC function that is at least one of theinterrupt/exception handling function and a register access and aconfiguration manager function; the monitoring function; the debuggingfunction; and the JTAG function.
 4. A non-transitory computer readablemedium storing instructions for executing a process, the instructionscomprising: configuring each of a plurality of first agents as a Networkon Chip (NoC) host to communicate with other ones of the plurality offirst agents through injection of messages into the NoC; configuring asecond agent to perform a NoC function, the second agent being one ofthe plurality of the first agents and configured as a NoC host tocommunicate with other ones of the plurality of first agents throughinjection of messages into the NoC, the second agent connected to one ormore interconnects of the plurality of the first agents and to aninterconnect network dedicated to the second agent; and configuring abridge connected to the second agent to packetize messages from thesecond agent to transmit to the plurality of first agents, and totranslate the messages from the plurality of first agents to the secondagent.
 5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4,wherein the NoC function is at least one of an interrupt/exceptionhandler function, a monitoring function, a debugging function and a JTAGfunction.
 6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 5, wherein the instructions further comprise associating thesecond agent with an interconnect network configured to facilitatetraffic for the NoC function that is at least one of theinterrupt/exception handling function and a register access and aconfiguration manager function; the monitoring function; the debuggingfunction; and the JTAG function.
 7. A method, comprising: configuringeach of a plurality of first agents as a Network on Chip (NoC) host tocommunicate with other ones of the plurality of first agents throughinjection of messages into the NoC; configuring a second agent toperform a NoC function, the second agent being one of the plurality ofthe first agents and configured as a NoC host to communicate with otherones of the plurality of first agents through injection of messages intothe NoC, the second agent connected to one or more interconnects of theplurality of the first agents and to an interconnect network dedicatedto the second agent; and configuring a bridge connected to the secondagent to packetize messages from the second agent to transmit to theplurality of first agents, and to translate the messages from theplurality of first agents to the second agent.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the NoC function is at least one of an interrupt/exceptionhandler function, a monitoring function, a debugging function and a JTAGfunction.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the instructions furthercomprise associating the second agent with an interconnect networkconfigured to facilitate traffic for the NoC function that is at leastone of the interrupt/exception handling function and a register accessand a configuration manager function; the monitoring function; thedebugging function; and the JTAG function.